Sada Mire

Dr. Sada Mire (born 1977) is a Somali archaeologist. She is the only active archaeologist working in Somaliland, a region in northern Somalia[1] where she became the Director of Antiquities in 2007.[2] Originally from the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Mire fled the ountry at the start of the civil war at the age of 14. She then traveled to Sweden seeking asylum. She has since returned to the Horn of Africa as an archaeologist, making some notable discoveries.[3]

Early life

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1977, her father was a police official who was killed due to being a possible political threat when Mire was 12.[2] After this traumatic experience, in 1991, she fled Somalia with her mother and siblings on a relative's lorry during the Somali Civil War. Mire and her identical twin, Sohur, emigrated to Sweden where an older sister lived and received asylum. The twins later moved to the United Kingdom to study.[4] Mire studied at Lund University before receiving a Bachelor's degree at SOAS, University of London and a Masters and Ph.D. in archaeology at University College London.[3]

Career

She has conducted field research in northern Somalia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Kenya, and Egypt, and has worked for the United Nations Development Program. A TED-speaker,[5] she has participated on the editorial boards, including African Archaeological Review.[6]

Motivated to learn the history of Somalia, her homeland which was once a colonial country in Africa, she took up a fellowship under the department of art and archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London (also head of the department of antiquities in Somaliland, in north-western Somalia). She launched an ambitious programme of archeological explorations in 2007.[3]

Mire, leading a team of 50 helpers, has discovered prehistoric rock art in Somaliland at almost 100 sites; at least 10 of these are likely to receive World Heritage status. The Dhambalin site, which is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) from the Red Sea, contains rock art in sandstone shelters, which are inferred as about 5,000 years old, of horned cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as giraffes, which no longer exist in northern Somalia.[3][7] The NGO, Horn Heritage, funds her work in Somalia.[1]

Education work

In order to educate her people on the cultural heritage of their country, to continue with the archaeological explorations and get UNESCO World Heritage Sites status for some of the rock art sites she has discovered, she has established the "Horn Heritage", a non-profit organization to fund her work.[3] She was also involved in establishing Somalia’s Department of Tourism and Archaeology.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Hegarty, Stephanie (September 11, 2011). "Sada Mire: Uncovering Somalia's heritage". BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 Barth, Amy (June 19, 2011). "5 Questions for the Woman Who Found Somalia's History". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sada Mire: Uncovering Somalia's heritage". BBC News. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Here today, gone tomorrow? Saving Somaliland's heritage". CNN. May 10, 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Travels in Space, Time & Imagination at the TEDSalon in London". TED. November 14, 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sada Mire". ucl.academia.edu. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Alberge, Dalya (September 17, 2010). "UK archaeologist finds cave paintings at 100 new African sites Scientist unearths 5,000-year-old rock art, including drawing of a mounted hunter, in Somaliland". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Meet Sada Mire, The World’s Only Active Somali Archaeologist". The Mary Sue, LLC. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
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